Schmidt sets tone from the start

Gov. Mifflin’s George Schmidt makes a big hit on the opening kickoff and goes on to have a big game at the Voices Berks Senior Football Classic.

By Tom Brolley

Reading Eagle

George Schmidt set the tone of the Voices Berks Senior Football Classic on the opening play.

The Gov. Mifflin standout knifed through the East’s kickoff coverage and knocked Reading High’s Malcolm Williams to the turf at the 10.

“They have speed so we had to slam them in the face and hit them hard first,” Schmidt said, “and that’s what we did. We just came out and played a physical game.”

Schmidt continued to keep the heat on the East, forcing a fumble to set up a score, coming up with key short-yardage runs and scoring both touchdowns in the West’s 14-13 victory at Shirk Stadium.

Trailing early in the first quarter, Schmidt once again targeted Williams.

From his safety position, Schmidt smacked Williams in the end zone, jarring the ball loose and allowing his Gov. Mifflin teammate, Sam Eagleson, to recover the fumble.

Schmidt scored his first TD on the next play, from the 2.

“We definitely needed to come back and score right away because they had the momentum at that point,” Schmidt said. “We did exactly that.”

With Wilson’s Jake Stopper and Twin Valley’s Nick Wilkinson at tailback, Schmidt was expected to play primarily at safety.

That changed when the West went to its power package with Schmidt at tailback in the Power-I.

The future Bloomsburg safety touched the ball on five straight plays, resulting in two first downs.

West quarterback Paul Zeoli of Twin Valley said Schmidt’s physical running took its toll on the East.

“They were getting tired,” Zeoli said. “They were walking and stuff, showing signs of weaknesses. That was huge. To just get us another first down and to just turn the downs over and start over again.”

The West players told their coaches they wanted to continue to pound the ball at the start of the second half.

Schmidt came through, carrying three times on the go-ahead drive, including a 2-yard TD.

It may have been Schmidt’s final 2-yard run that deflated the East the most.

Facing fourth-and-1 at the 12 with 10 minutes remaining, the ball — and the game — ended up in Schmidt’s hands again.

The decision paid off as Schmidt picked up the first down on a second effort, allowing the West to keep the ball and burn more clock.

While it appeared to be a risky call, the West coaches were confident Schmidt would come through.

“You know a kid that had 21 touchdowns (last season) has a nose for the end zone,” West co-head coach Jerry Wilczynski said. “We looked at it as if we were on the 2 on fourth down, we’re going for it. It was the play of the game.”